The Bionic Wiki:Current Events Archive May2007
THIS IS AN ARCHIVE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REVISIT AN OLD TOPIC, PLEASE START A NEW DISCUSSION IN CURRENT EVENTS. Character pages Hey all. I've noticed some inconsistancies in format with character pages. In an attempt to rectify this, I've created a character template which is currently in use at Josh Lang. Take a look and let me know what you think. If it gets the community approval, I think this would be nice to use for character pages. Also, if you can think of any additional fields that would be useful, now is the time to suggest them. After a hundred or so pages are using the template, if changes are to be made to the template (i.e. is someone wants to add a field) all the pages using the template need to be update too and that can be tedious. Thoughts? —Scott (talk) 04:33, 13 May 2007 (UTC) :Hi, Scott. I brought up this same topic below (see Formats/Templates). Paul has created some pages that set up a basic format (see Peggy Callahan and Fred Sloan), which is what I have been following. :From what I saw in your example, it appears that the template incorporates some of the information into a box that includes the image and credits. I tried tweaking some of the other characters to see how it would look, but had some trouble. I wonder if you wouldn't mind revising Michael Marchetti or another character page that already has more info entered? That way we could see it in all it's glory. :Also, you asked about other headings. Is that just for the boxed area, or the whole page? I'd also like to see headings on a character page that include: Background, Career, Trivia, and Quotes.Karen (talk) 09:24, 13 May 2007 (UTC) ::Sweet! It adds a great aesthetic quality to the page (and it will compliment the at-a-glance box we're making for the production credits on the episode articles). However, the template would need to accomodate a show designation (SMDM or BW). And there are multiple episodes for some characters, and in the case of Rudy Wells, multiple actors. Since these instances are so few, perhaps separate templates should be made for them. As for additional fields, perhaps a brief one line description? Job title? Relationship title? It shouldn't be more extensive than that. Maybe their most famous quote? All the other stuff, as Karen mentioned, should remain in the body of the article. — Paul (talk) 13:20, 13 May 2007 (UTC) :::Yikes! My bad. I haven't been here as often as I could be, so I wasn't around for that discussion and didn't think to skim Current Events. :::That said, feel free to scrap the template if you've already commited to a format. What I did at Josh Lang was just a sandbox trial and can be reverted. On the other hand, if folks like it, it's easily tweakable while still in "pre-production." :::My thinking was that the Appearances field would accomodate the show-specific aspect of the box and obviously only be used for characters that didn't have more than maybe 5 or 6 appearances. It would be silly to use that space for Rudy since he was a main character. Let me know what you think. —Scott (talk) 15:13, 13 May 2007 (UTC) ::::Scrap shmap. We like it. And we'll use it. But for consistancy's sake, I'd want ALL charcacter articles to have it -- whether they've been in one episode or 10. We would need to tweak it to include values for which show they appeared in also. In fact, if we introduce this visual motif in the character articles and episode articles, we really should have one for all articles. Each with its own set of values for the type of acrticle it appears in. Take a look at Peggy Callahan which is perhaps the most complete character page we have right now. Do your magic and show us what her "sidebar" would look like. — Paul (talk) 17:03, 13 May 2007 (UTC) :::::I just played with the template for an hour and I can't figure out how to expunge conditional data for grouped occurances. If anyone else wants to take a crack at it, see Wikipedia:Qif conditionals. I might try and take a crack at it later, but until then it's best you ignored my suggestion and continue as you were. Sorry for the confusion. —Scott (talk) 19:42, 13 May 2007 (UTC) Creating Deconstructed Pages for Episodes :WAS: "Adding a New Page for More Quotes" Many of the pages are quite long due to many quotes. I thought that maybe we could create a link for More Quotes to house most of the quotes on the page. I created such a link for the episode The Bionic Woman (episode). Instead of linking it as "More Quotes", it could be linked as "Additional Quotes", or not done at all. If this is adopted, then I wonder if "Quotes" should be a new category... but, now I may be going overboard....Karen (talk) 16:26, 5 May 2007 (UTC) :Interesting idea, Karen -- one that echoes an early suggestion in Current Events about moving all the "extra fun stuff" (trivia, quotes, nitpicks, etc.) to its own page and calling it the Disassembled or Deconstructed page for that particular episode. In addition, any known "behind-the-scenes" information and images would be added. Article titles would be The Bionic Woman (episode) Deconstructed, Population Zero Deconstructed, etc. This might be the opportunity to start creating those pages. :Moreover, my opinion regarding our approach to quotes is still an unfavorable one. To me, quotes are one-liners or short exchanges that are iconic. An exchange beyond 3 or 4 lines is not a quote in my opinion, it's a clunky chunk of dialogue that becomes less meaningful the longer it is. There are some quotes here that are so long they are simply abhorrent to me. But enough of my rant. Creating a page solely for quotes seems an equitable idea (even though it does drive my point home ;)) I just think that if we're going to do it, we might as well go all the way and make them Deconstructed pages rather than Quote pages. :Incidentally, I'd like to thank you, Karen, for chugging away at the wiki these last few weeks. It seems the lot of us are busy with other stuff right now, myself included. It's good to see your edits! — Paul (talk) 16:25, 6 May 2007 (UTC) ::Thanks, Paul. I've enjoyed the diversion it provides, and truly want to help the Wiki to reach its full potential. ::I do like the idea of a "Deconstructed" page. My only concern is that the content might seem buried if it is separated on its own page. And for me personally, I am a fan of the "trivia" and would like to see that remain part of the episode's main page, but would defer to the Wiki's greater good if others felt that wasn't needed. Do you suggest creating another category or some sort of template for the new pages, or just linking them through the episode's page? ::I was also browsing other Wiki sites, and kind of like the format used on Memory Alpha - see "Appearances" - to "show all" or "hide all" as a possible alternative for some of the features. ::For the quotes, I agree that a quote is a short exchange. But, I have used them when my hearing (it stinks) or the sound quality of my third season episodes has failed me. So I would like to see the quotes stay... after all, some fans aren't even lucky enough to have Sci-Fi's version of the episodes.Karen (talk) 21:20, 6 May 2007 (UTC) :::Rest assured, Karen, that the quotes are here to stay. And they won't be obscured by poor placement -- the Deconstructed articles will be as prominent and accessible as the main episode articles. They'll have their own category and be linked to their main episode article counterparts. In fact, when I finally complete the new main page graphic design, they, along with all other categories will be showcased right from the main body page. As for the javascript "hide/show" option -- I'll look into it; it's a simple enough script to adopt. My only concern is that users must have javascript enabled in their browser for it to work for them -- and not everyone chooses to do so. I'd hate to alienate those potential visitors and editors. In the interim, let's continue adding content as per usual. — Paul (talk) 19:49, 8 May 2007 (UTC) Current Events Archives *February 2007 *September *May *April *March *February *January (a) *January